Author: lewisotr

One Hell Of A Guy, If I do say so myself.
In and Around Austin, The History of TexasLeave a comment

The History of SH 2/US 81/IH 35 Through Texas

lewisotr

State Highway 2, or SH 2, is a deleted Texas highway. SH 2 was one of the original twenty-six state highways proposed in 1917, overlaid on top of the Meridian Highway and Gulf Division Highway. From 1919 the routing mostly followed present day Interstate 44 (I-44) from Oklahoma to Wichita Falls, and U.S. Highway 287 (US 287) to Fort Worth. It continued on, routed along present day I-35W and I-35 to Waco. From here, the road divided into two branches, both signed as State Highway 2. The western branch followed the Meridian Highway from Waco, roughly following I-35 through Austin … Continue reading The History of SH 2/US 81/IH 35 Through Texas

In and Around Austin2 Comments

Catfish Hill…….It Didn’t Get Any Fresher Than That

lewisotr

Back in the 1980s we used go out east of Garfield on Wolf Lane to a place called Catfish Hill. They had the freshest fish you could possibly get. This is about 5 or 6 miles east of the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. After you arrived, they’d walk out back, catch the fish out of a pond that was directly behind the restaurant, clean it, fry it up whole and serve it to you. The whole process didn’t seem to take any longer than going anywhere else for a meal. The old fellow that owned place was Clarence Washington. I think … Continue reading Catfish Hill…….It Didn’t Get Any Fresher Than That

Marble Falls and the Area Around it.2 Comments

The Squirrel Tooth Pecan Sheller and Other Burnham Family History

lewisotr

P J. Morton Burnham had a machine shop on Main at 2nd in MarbleFalls. When I was a boy growing up in the 60s, I would pass that shop at all hours of the day and night. Mr. Burnham could be seen inside tinkered with all kinds of mechanical stuff. He rebuilt fishing reels, worked on guns, made game calls and invented a number of things. He observed how a squirrel peeled pecans and made a sheller to replicate the way they did it so efficiently, hence the birth of the Squirrel Tooth Sheller. It is my understanding that he … Continue reading The Squirrel Tooth Pecan Sheller and Other Burnham Family History

Old Dog - New TrickLeave a comment

On Thinking About Fighting Yeast Infections….

lewisotr

I’m not fighting a yeast infection, mind you. But I was on some strong antibiotics just a little while back. One of my wife’s crazy friends told her I needed to drink probiotic milk to get everything back in sync. Low N Behold she brought me home this stuff. It was a carton each of Strawberry and Blueberry Buttermilk. Wow, that’s a strange sensation in your mouth. Actually I’ve taken to it. When these are gone, I’ll have to decide if I want more. Continue reading On Thinking About Fighting Yeast Infections….

Crazy TimesLeave a comment

Who remembers the name William Lee Bergstrom ? He was commonly known as The Suitcase Man or The Phantom Gambler.

lewisotr

Back in the high flying prosperous years of the 80s, me and several fellow contractors had a great propensity to head to Vegas a way to often. So when the William Lee Bergstrom situation came about, I was right in the middle of watching and reading about it unfolding. Following is the Wikipedia version of what transpired: Bergstrom was born in Austin, Texas and attended Austin High School graduating in 1969. He attended UT, but dropped out in 1974. His brother Alan Bergstrom described their childhood as marred. Their parents were divorced and Bill constantly desired the respect and affection … Continue reading Who remembers the name William Lee Bergstrom ? He was commonly known as The Suitcase Man or The Phantom Gambler.

Amazing Things, Meeting New People, My Friends, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

My Friend Udo

lewisotr

I have had the great fortune to meet many people in my lifetime. None probably made a greater impact on me than Udo Haufler. Udo was my neighbor, my friend and my mentor. The first day of 1977, Madeline and I moved into a house on a very quite, secluded south Austin street. Albert Road was like being in another place altogether. It wasn’t like living in Austin. Directly across the street was a large 2 story house, with a horse stable in the back. Esther and Udo Haufler were the elderly couple that lived there. (of course now that … Continue reading My Friend Udo

Construction, Crazy Times, The Early DaysLeave a comment

Watch Out What You Say, You Never Know When It Will Come Back And Bite You In The Rear End

lewisotr

One time we laid a 48″ waterline up through a neighborhood in Northwest Austin, a real high dollar part of town called Cat Mountain. Our line started at RM 2222 and continued to the top of the mountain on Mt. Bonnell Blvd and various other streets to reach its terminus. Mt. Bonnell – Cat Mountain Project It was really a picture perfect project that kept us busy for most of a year. When we reach the termination point on that job, another contractor, a competitor, was picking up where we left off. This competitor was a friendly one. We had … Continue reading Watch Out What You Say, You Never Know When It Will Come Back And Bite You In The Rear End

Crazy Times, On The Job, The Early DaysLeave a comment

The Fire

lewisotr

Madeline was going through a bunch of old stuff in her cedar chest a while back and she ran across this newspaper clipping of a piece of construction equipment we had one time that caught fire. I wrote a story about this incident long ago. In fact it is even in The Angora Chronicles book. Just don’t want anyone thinking I exaggerated the “degree” to which the fire was. This photo shows it so well. The Story About The Fire: Ruby Waggoner was my dad’s mother. She and my grandfather had divorced when Cecil was very young. He was raised … Continue reading The Fire